DUBAI: February 23, 2016. DP World has signed contracts for civil construction work at its new Container Terminal 4 on a reclaimed island in Jebel Ali Port with Dutco Balfour Beatty, BAM International Abu Dhabi, and CH2M HILL.

Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, DP World group chairman and CEO said: "This terminal is the big idea that will change the way ports work in the future." Under Phase 1, Terminal 4 will add 3.1 million TEU by 2018, taking Jebel Ali Port's total capacity to 22.1 million TEU. The port will be equipped with at least 110 cranes with a total quay length of around 11,000 metres by that time. DP World said it would expand Terminal 4's capacity to a total of 7.8 million TEU in line with market demand under Phase 2.

Bin Sulayem added: "With our 4 million capacity TEU Container Terminal 3 fully operational this year, Jebel Ali will have the capability to accommodate 10 mega container ships simultaneously and the new Terminal 4 will increase that handling capability. It will be ready in time to meet the expected increase in trade over the next five years and to ensure Jebel Ali Port reinforces its position as the top commercial gateway to this region."

SHANGHAI:February 22, 2016. China COSCO Shipping Corporation Limited is the new post-merger entity of COSCO and China Shipping with US$93.6 billion in assets. Chairman Xu Lirong said the company aims to be the global leader in shipping, integrated logistics and related financial services and is reportedly reviewing its current alliances with other ocean carriers.

China is restructuring and merging state-owned enterprises to increase their competitiveness. The top two high-speed rail makers and two leading nuclear power companies have already merged, according to China's official news agency Xinhua.

HOUSTON, TX: February 24, 2016. CEVA Logistics has launched a new weekly LCL (Less-than-Container Load) service from Shanghai to Koper on Slovenia’s Adriatic coast where containers are then railed up to the Hungarian capital. Transit times are 30 days from Shanghai to Koper and then 5-7 days for the inland transportation.

“This is an end-to-end CEVA-owned solution for our LCL customers. It starts with our own dedicated trucking network in China where we can feed into Shanghai from key cities across the country. And with our CEVA warehouse in Budapest operating as our container freight station there is no external handling of cargo or any third-party warehousing. It’s a win-win solution with better controlled transit times and service quality which are great benefits for customers,” added CEVA’s global LCL director, Greg Scott.

HAMBURG:February 24, 2016. Hapag-Lloyd has reported earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) of US$406.7 million on revenue of US$9.81 billion for 2015, compared to an EBIT loss of US$508.7 million on US$9.04 billion revenue for the previous year.

Transport volume rose from 5.9 million to 7.4 million TEUs over the period largely due to increased volume from the merger with CSAV’s container business. The average freight rate in 2015 declined to US$1,225 per TEU from US$1,427 the previous year. As of December 31 2015, the company had €5.0 billion in equity and liquidity reserves of €962 million, while net debt rose from €3.0 billion to €3.3 billion year-on-year.